The online uproar continued to escalate.
Nie Luo’s studio also stepped forward to issue a statement. The moment it was released, the internet exploded.
The wording from the studio was concise and to the point: they were demanding an explanation from the program production team on Nie Luo’s behalf.
But this also indirectly confirmed that the video circulating online was real.
That was enough to completely set Nie Luo’s fans off.
“The production team really treated Nie Ge like this? I won’t even bother talking about what Jing Yuan is—but pulling something like this behind Nie Ge’s back and secretly letting him appear? Are you just trying to disgust people on purpose?”
“This is peak high-density human confusion behavior. Honestly, Nie Ge has had it rough this year—running into so much messy nonsense. I’d be losing my mind too.”
“Ugh, nothing more to say. Fully supporting the studio in demanding an explanation for Nie Ge. Do you really think us fans are pushovers?”
However much benefit the production team had previously reaped from Nie Luo, they were now suffering an equal and opposite backlash.
Almost instantly, both the once lighthearted super-topic and the official account were completely overrun.
On top of that, posts about the incident flooded every major, well-known industry forum, countless threads shooting straight to the top.
For a time, voices came from all directions, overwhelming the production team and forcing them to quickly reach out to Nie Luo’s side.
The director was the first to contact Nie Luo. However, the moment he opened Nie Luo’s contact information—
He had already been blocked.
The director felt a bit despondent, then let out another sigh.
With no other choice, he contacted Nie Luo’s studio instead.
The studio’s attitude was strictly professional.
Explanation, apology, compensation—none of it was negotiable.
After rounds of back-and-forth, the program production team ultimately agreed to every demand.
Almost first thing the next morning, as if their feet were on fire, the program released an apology statement.
Nie Luo didn’t look at any of it.
Right now, he felt lost—confused, even.
Why hadn’t Fan Qing come home yet?
After waking up, he searched around, but still didn’t see the other figure who should have been in the room.
But—
Why was A-Qing so busy?
Shouldn’t he be the busier one in this situation?
Nie Luo looked around blankly, sinking deeper into confusion.
Meanwhile.
Fan Qing woke up on an unfamiliar large bed. The moment he opened his phone, he saw the statement released by Nie Luo’s studio.
He stretched lazily.
The ill-fitting shirt slipped slightly off his left shoulder, revealing skin that Fan Qing had clearly taken good care of—smooth, refined.
Look closer, and his chest appeared full, concealing a strength that was anything but modest.
Had Nie Luo really been busy all night?
Thinking that, Fan Qing tugged his shirt back into place and quickly tucked it in.
Stepping out of the bedroom, he looked around.
He’d driven Nie Luo back to this apartment before, but this was his first time actually entering it as a resident.
A bit of a shame—Nie Luo seemed extremely busy.
But he didn’t really have the right to complain.
Fan Qing rubbed at the stubble on his chin.
He himself hadn’t arrived until nearly midnight last night, rushing over in a hurry.
Tch. Career stuff—sometimes it really did get in the way of a lot of things.
After a rare moment of complaint, Fan Qing quickly let it go.
After all, what kind of man would he be without a career?
And besides, the way Nie Luo devoted himself so wholeheartedly to his work was honestly enough to make him really want to—
Hm?
Nie Luo’s call?
Fan Qing finished washing up at top speed and answered.
“Ge? You finally done with work?”
Nie Luo froze on the other end.
Then his confused, bewildered voice came through the speaker.
“What do you mean, I finally finished?”
Fan Qing froze too.
A slow question mark appeared over his head.
“You… weren’t busy last night?”
Nie Luo looked even more confused.
“No… were you busy?”
The moment the words fell, the call plunged into an awkward silence.
After quite a while, Fan Qing finally said, half laughing, half helpless,
“Ge, didn’t you give me the keys to that apartment? I already came over last night.”
So… had Nie Luo gone to the apartment he’d given him instead?
Had the two of them just… waited for each other all night in different places?
Nie Luo was silent for a long time before slowly asking,
“So you’re in that apartment right now?”
“Yeah. I came over last night.”
Fan Qing felt both amused and resigned.
“I waited for you all night, Ge.”
Nie Luo fell even more silent.
After a long pause, he finally spoke, sounding lost.
“But didn’t you also give me the keys to your place? I thought you wanted me to go over there…”
He’d already figured it out by now.
But even having figured it out, Fan Qing still felt that the two of them were disastrously out of sync.
No—wait.
Fan Qing thought about it again and rejected that conclusion.
Maybe it wasn’t that they lacked chemistry.
Maybe it was that they had too much of it.
So much that it led to this exact outcome.
He gave Nie Luo keys, so Nie Luo went over.
Nie Luo gave him keys, so he came over.
What kind of tacit understanding was this supposed to be?
Tucking his shirt into his pants, Fan Qing said helplessly,
“What I meant was to give the keys back to you—because I want to live together with you.”
Nie Luo’s muffled voice came through the receiver.
“That’s what I meant too. But I thought you wanted me to come over here to be with you.”
So their intentions were exactly the same.
And yet, after rushing toward each other from opposite directions, they ended up—
With the same idea, but still separated into two homes.
Thinking of that, Fan Qing couldn’t help wanting to sigh.
Originally, he should have had a perfect night last night.
Nie Luo finally understood what had happened.
And that only left him even more confused.
Why did it feel like he’d clearly done the right thing, yet something was still wrong?
But wasn’t this how it was supposed to be?
Fan Qing finished changing.
“How about this—since we think the same way, whoever gets home first can stay wherever that is?”
He paused, then chuckled softly.
“And we keep in touch more often, yeah?”
If last night they hadn’t been this perfectly in sync and had both chosen to wait—
He probably wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed today.
The more Fan Qing thought about it, the more regret he felt.
But it probably wouldn’t take long for another chance.
Nie Luo understood what he meant now.
He stared blankly for a moment, then nodded slowly.
Right—A-Qing couldn’t see that.
So Nie Luo hummed in response.
After thinking for a bit, he added,
“You should look for me more,” he paused, then said, “Even when I’m filming. The assistant will tell me. I’ll reply when I see it.”
“I know.”
It seemed that his previous thoughtfulness and restraint had come across, to his boyfriend, as neglect.
Fan Qing reflected on himself.
Looks like Nie Ge preferred the clingy type?
That, he could actually be very good at.
After hanging up, Fan Qing stood there for a while.
Holding it in.
…Couldn’t hold it in.
“Heh heh, heh heh heh heh hahahaha.”
Seriously.
Brother Nie was adorable—and he himself was being way too stupid.
After laughing for a good long while, Fan Qing shook his head.
Once he’d put his disguise back on, he adjusted his mood a little.
Things on Nie Luo’s side were, for the time being, settled—but there was still another matter waiting for him.
“Here?”
In an office drenched in dark tones, Jin Si reclined in a thick, cushioned office chair.
He was wrapped up in a heavy coat, which made his already large frame look even bulkier.
Only—
Fan Qing glanced at Jin Si and fell into thought.
How did Jin Si manage to be so big, yet give off the immediate impression that he was freezing and terribly weak?
And besides, the heating in the room was clearly more than sufficient—so why was he still wearing such a thick coat?
“Not going to greet me?”
Jin Si finally spoke up.
Wasn’t Elder Ning sitting there with his eyes closed?
Fan Qing raised an eyebrow but still called out crisply.
“Brother Jin.”
“Mhm, good.”
Jin Si waved him over.
Fan Qing didn’t think much of it and walked forward.
Jin Si rummaged around inside his coat.
Fan Qing: ?
What was Elder Ning doing now?
A bright red envelope was handed to him.
Fan Qing froze for a rare moment.
What was this?
Jin Si spoke lazily.
“Well? Aren’t you taking it?”
Fan Qing accepted it on reflex—and then fell silent.
“…What is this?”
It couldn’t be that.
It was, right?
Surely it wasn’t what he was thinking.
Jin Si slowly admired his expression before answering.
“Didn’t you call me big brother?”
Fan Qing’s cheek twitched, little by little.
“…So?”
President Jin—Elder Ning—wasn’t actually about to say—
“Change-of-address fee.”
Jin Si looked rather pleased under Fan Qing’s resentful stare.
“You know what a change-of-address fee is, right? Little Brother Fan Qing.”
Fan Qing: …
How to put it—his mood was extremely complicated.
Sure, he had acknowledged Jin Si as his big brother himself.
But that wasn’t what he meant by it, okay?
A “change-of-address fee” made it feel like—he’d clearly been the one shamelessly owing Jin Si favors, thinking debts piled high didn’t weigh on you. But now?
Now it felt like he’d taken a loss.
…Though maybe not entirely a loss.
Fan Qing pinched the red envelope, his expression shifting back and forth.
After all, a big brother like Jin Si was someone most people couldn’t get even if they begged.
And Jin Si really had helped him and Nie Luo many times.
So maybe it wasn’t—
Tsk.
Still felt like a huge loss.
Fan Qing stuffed the envelope into his pocket.
“…Thank you, Brother Jin.”
“No rush.”
Seeing him accept it, Jin Si leisurely reached back into his coat again.
Fan Qing had a very bad feeling.
He kind of wanted to leave.
But at this point, it was probably too late.
He thought grimly.
The next second, another bright red envelope appeared in front of him.
Fan Qing: …Could he say “as expected”?
Short answer: his mood was incredibly complicated.
Jin Si glanced at him.
“Take it. It’s for Nie Luo.”
He paused, then slowly corrected himself.
“For little brother Nie Luo.”
Clench fist.
The vein at Fan Qing’s temple jumped.
…This one really was only suitable for communication over the phone, wasn’t he?
Face-to-face, he constantly had the urge to—
Commit murder.
Deep breath.
Think about how Jing Yuan’s matter wasn’t resolved yet.
Then think about Zhuo Yuan.
Right—Zhuo Yuan.
The moment he thought of that, Fan Qing’s skin thickened to the level of city walls.
“Then I’ll thank you on Nie Luo’s behalf, Brother Jin.”
Fan Qing’s expression instantly returned to normal as he accepted the envelope.
Jin Si took in the change.
…Tsk. No fun anymore.
A younger brother who was too smart really did rob things of their amusement.
Jin Si immediately lost interest.
He was just about to wave him off when Fan Qing spoke first.
“How are things on Jing Yuan’s side? And that Mister Zhuo…”
“Hm? That?”
At the mention of it, Jin Si straightened a little.
“The one surnamed Zhuo—you don’t need to worry about him. But as for Jing Yuan, he wants to see you.”
“See me?”
Fan Qing echoed.
“Mhm. He has something in his hands. But he wants to meet you and then talk about the deal.”
That was why he’d had Fan Qing come over.
Jing Yuan wanted to see him?
Why?
Fan Qing pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“Then I’ll go have a talk with him.”